RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-the-mail-bombs-1540595085?cx_testId=16&cx_testVariant=cx&cx_artPos=1&cx_tag=contextual&cx_navSource=newsReel#cxrecs_s

We suppose it was only a matter of time before the hyperpartisan forces now driving American politics overwhelmed the reality of events. With this week’s pipe bombs, that moment may have arrived.

The reality, previously known as the facts, is that for days this week public critics of President Trump received what appeared to be bombs in the mail. On Friday federal authorities arrested a Florida man, Cesar Sayoc, and charged him with crimes related to the mailed bombs. He appears to be a supporter of Mr. Trump.

By any measure, these packages represented a grave public threat. So it was astonishing, even by current standards, to see this threat degenerate immediately into the familiar and crude narrative of the Democrats versus Donald Trump. Congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi asserted in a joint statement, even after a calming presidential statement, that “the President has condoned physical violence and divided Americans.” A New York magazine headline online Friday read: “Trump’s party is the petri dish for diseased minds that grew Cesar Sayoc.”

On June 14 last year, James Hodgkinson—the left-wing mirror image of the apparently right-wing Cesar Sayoc—opened fire with a rifle into the Republicans’ Congressional softball practice. Two Capitol police shot him dead. Earlier, Hodgkinson had posted on Facebook: “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.” Hodgkinson was an ardent supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders. We cite the Hodgkinson shooting not for the purpose of establishing moral equivalence between these two events, but to make clear that both came from the country’s extreme lunatic fringe.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/3-growth-if-we-can-keep-it-1540595205

Can economic growth from tax reform and deregulation stand up to the headwinds from higher interest rates, tariffs and perhaps a Democratic Congress? That’s the question we take away from Friday’s strong but somewhat disappointing report on economic growth in the third quarter. The answer isn’t obvious.

The Commerce Department reported that the economy grew at a robust 3.5% in the third quarter, a mild slowdown from 4.2% in the second. Consumer spending led the way with a 4% increase rooted in a tight job market and wage gains that have bolstered economic confidence. The economy has now grown by 3% over the last 12 months.

The U.S. economy hasn’t grown at 3% in a calendar year since 2005, and that is now achievable this year. Barack Obama has recently been claiming credit for this faster growth as he campaigns for Democrats, but that boast is right up there with his promise that if you like your health plan you can keep it.

It’s clear that the Republican policy mix of tax reform, deregulation and general encouragement for risk-taking rescued an expansion that was fading fast and almost fell into recession in the last six quarters of the Obama Administration. The nearby chart tells the story that Mr. Obama and his economists won’t admit. Soaring business and consumer confidence have been central to this rebound.